Change Lives

Monday, 23 January 2017

I've been inundated with emails of late, many from people kindly looking to join our team. However we also in the process of huge renovations to our kennels, so I'm afraid organising all the building work means I haven't been able to respond to very many. I'm asking for people to be patient and I will get the relevant application forms sent out.

In all of this of course the dogs are at the forefront, making the whole project even more demanding. It's not even just our dogs, as unfortunately the world of cruelty doesn't seen to stop because we're having building work done. The last few days has seen me embark on perhaps the biggest rescue mission of one poor soul that we've ever launched.....

There will be more on that in good time. However I'll leave you with a little update photo of Bren and Axel today..... true buddies.

Saturday, 21 January 2017

Today I witnessed a little bit of magic that makes me so proud that I can't really put into words how much it means, or what it feels like to witness.

Bren, Topaz and Axel all arrived at the back end of last year with huge stories and reputations for one reason or another. They have all progressed so much, Bren and Topaz share a kennel, but I've had a feeling for a long time that Axel would match their energy levels. Today we put that to the test.

These dogs have suffered so much before coming to us. Bren and Topaz were actually hours from being destroyed. Whilst Axel want far from being starved to death. Maybe reasing those words and then looking above will give you an indication of the pride and love for these guys.....

Friday, 13 January 2017

Whilst 2016 was a huge year I think it's fair to say that Axel's story was one that will stick in the memory for a long time.

Today me and Rich decided it was time to up his game.....

The two dogs in this video with him are Star and Bruce. Star was booked into the vets to be destroyed for being uncontrollable. Bruce was tied to a tree on wasteland at the age of 8, discarded like an empty McDonald's bag. Both live with me and my family now, and are so amazing I showing dogs the way that despite being written off by others, there isn't enough money in the world to put a price on now much they mean t me.

A few tellings off and Axel got it, manners are very important, but Rich and I were very lucky to witness magic this morning.....

Thursday, 12 January 2017

Saturday, 7 January 2017

Just really had to share this photo of Ember in her local tonight. This dog is battling against whatever it is, but despite being left in such a horrendous state she simply adores being around people. I'm so very proud of her.

Tuesday, 3 January 2017

In my last post I did say that I felt in 2017 that we would need you more than ever. Today is the 3rd of January and already today we have two new arrivals and a dog that was due to be destroyed at a vets this afternoon is hopefully still alive and due to come to us later this week. Can you see why we need your support so much?

I think the most disturbing side of all this is the way these dogs have found their way to us. I mentioned also in the last post, a dog that had been tied to the gates of a church on Christmas day, yes that's right a church on Christmas day, today he came to us as no owner had come forward. He is such a playful, energetic dog. There is no way he deserved to spend his Christmas abandoned and then in kennels. I also said that it is the kind of story line that Disney would write if they were doing a story about a stray dog. I can't get that thought out of my head, except it's for real.....

This handsome boy was tied to a church gate on Christmas day.

Then we also have little Dolly who was left in a garden along with another dog. They fought as you'd expect for two dogs left to fend for themselves, so she has been to the vets and now has to start her life all over. Microchip details tell us she is only two.....

Little Dolly, abandoned at Christmas.

So already three days into the year we are under immense pressure, but what else can we do. We refuse to give up on them. Already Christmas seems such a long time ago.

(Facebook viewers will need to click on the post to see all the photos.)

IMPORTANT STATEMENT APRIL 2018

A Statement From SHAK.....

One of the drawbacks of gaining followers through Facebook, the press and other forms of media is the demand for our expertise is growing beyond a level that is manageable or even acceptable. We are a victim of our own success and with constantly running with around 70 dogs in our care, being such a small charity we are always stretched beyond our limit.

Therefore I think it is important for me to explain exactly where we get our dogs from and who we will deal with. For the past 12 years we have dealt very closely with vets taking destruction cases, local councils taking strays and a few recognised partnered charities that we have built up strong relationships with. Today this is still the case.

As I mentioned space and resources are very short resulting us being unable to take dogs from members of the public and due to time we are ubable to deal with the publuc in any way. Likewise we are not looking to extend our pool of partnered charities or organisations, so can not take dogs from groups we have never worked with before.

It is not out of ignorance, but due to concentrating our time on our own dogs that no unsolicited emails, phonecalls or Facebook messages will be returned.

Thank you for understanding and for all of your support.

Who We Are.....

Stephen Wylie and one of the SHAK dogs Donnie.

And What We Do.....

Celebrating its 10th anniversary on June 19th 2016, SHAK has come a long way since its founder Stephen Wylie uttered those fateful words ‘never again...’ after the shock death of his dog and best friend Shak.

The hundreds of dogs whose lives have been changed because of that loss is testament to a dog that had a lasting imprint on everyone he met.....

Today the registered charity has approximately 70 dogs inits care, offering sanctuary to the ones that really need it or a place to simply become a dog again for others.

Working only with destruction cases from vets, strays anddogs from our trusted charity partners, SHAK does not take in dogs from members of the public. Likewise we are not a rehoming centre, although we do offer the opportunity for people to apply for our Forever Foster project.

We concentrate all of our time, energy and resources directly into the well being of our dogs, enriching lives that others had written off.....

Keep Calm

Ways You Can Donate.....

We are delighted to announce our new partnership with Vodafone, and provide a simple and effective way of you to help us "Save Even More Dogs On Death Row."

Simply text SHAK01 £10 to 70070 to donate to Shak (Safe Homes And Kindness) and make a difference today. You can donate any amount upto £10 by simply changing the amount in the text, and the best thing is we get EVERY penny.

Thanks in advance for your support.

"It's A Dogs Life....."

A Blog page to show all the work that goes on behind the scenes at SHAK.

A brief insight into how our dogs get here, and what they do when they get here…..

(Please note, all opinions and views on here are exactly that, OUR opinions and views ony.)